Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2007-195665 discloses an absorbent article having, on the skin-contact surface side of the absorbing layer, convexly curved grooves which are paired on the longitudinal front and rear sides and paired on the right and left sides along the longitudinal direction. In this absorbent article, the front end part of the left groove and the front end part of the right groove are located more on the longitudinal front side than the rear end part of the front groove. Therefore, so-called virtual extended lines obtained by extending the left groove and the right groove toward the longitudinal centerline direction, intersect on the longitudinal centerline to form a nearly V-shaped fold line.
Usually, a force is imposed on the right and left grooves from leg openings during wearing of the absorbent article (a force is imposed in the Y region of FIG. 7), and the force is transmitted to the direction close to the longitudinal centerline of the groove. In the absorbent article of Kokai No. 2007-195665, the right and left grooves are formed to allow their front and rear ends to extend toward the longitudinal centerline and at the same time, the rear ends are closer to the longitudinal centerline than to the position corresponding to a body fluid discharge port, which brings about excessive concentration of the force on this point, as a result, the absorption body on the longitudinal centerline forms a bulge part on the skin-contact surface side and the shape formed by connecting the bulge part and the front or rear end parts of the right and left grooves is liable to change into a projection. The projection may rub the skin to give an uncomfortable feeling during wearing or the liquid excrement may readily roll down on the slant face of the projection and spread to cause leakage.